Pavilion, a structure built especially for propagation activities. Funding to build it came from a

special government grant and the Noosa team was eager to learn more about our process of

grant application.

A WINNING FORMULA

The channels of funding and the way in which they have evolved over more than 30 years are

the major reason for TMBG’s success. While the development and funding of the gardens relied

almost entirely upon the work of garden club members for the first 25 years of its existence, the

then Beaudesert Shire Council provided some support in the early years.

The council bought a small block of land adjacent to the main site to provide better vehicle

access. Council workers built a toilet block on the site and erected a tool shed. Council also

provided workers and machinery when the club decided to dredge the swampy creek to create

a lake. But it was not all upside and progress. A mistake during lake dredging saw an excavator

slip into the fledgling lake and the recovery cost emptied the club’s coffers.

Bulldozing the lake

Yet funding structures were in place. The club realised that cake stalls and raffles were simply not going to generate the cash the gardens would need.

So members organised an annual flower festival. This event grew over the years and was a

significant source of funds. But even that was not without hurdles. Various festival structures

were tried – most worked to a degree, some less so. Eventually, moving away from a central

venue in the early 2000s and focusing on private gardens proved to be a winning formula.

Tamborine Mountain residents were asked to open their gardens to the public over a three-day

weekend in late September. Each year, new gardens are opened and a few favourites re-open.

Today, the Springtime on the Mountain Open Gardens Festival is the largest community event in

the entire region, run entirely by TM Garden Club volunteers, attracting more than 3,000 visitors

over the weekend.

In 2007 and again in 2015 the open gardens festival was announced as the Community Event of the Year at the region’s Australia Day Awards. It now ranks as the second largest source of funds for the gardens.

Part of the money raised each year is set aside in a bank account in case of an emergency or disaster.

THE FUNDING STRUCTURES IN PLACE ARE THE MAIN REASON FOR TMBG’S SUCCESS.

That bank account could now entirely fund the operations of TMBG for nearly two years if all

other sources of funding were to dry up. Many other funding plans have been hatched over the

years. For example, a Friends of the Botanic Gardens group was launched. It raised some funds

from the community but was soon abandoned as being too unwieldy to administer.

TMBG management realised that, if some major projects to raise the gardens’ capacities and

attractions were to succeed, government funding was needed. In 2006 a team approached

the Beaudesert Shire Council to request a regular grant and was initially rejected. Not to be

thwarted, the team tried a different tack. They approached the newly-appointed Council CEO,

inviting him to visit the site.

Alistair Dawson did not know the gardens existed or that council owned the property. He was

immediately impressed and joined the lobbying for funding. He described the TMBG as the

‘jewel in the crown’ of the shire. The following year a grant of about $50,000 was approved but,

before it could be delivered, state government disbanded the council and replaced it with a new

body, the Scenic Rim Regional Council, with different borders and a new council membership.

What followed was much to-and-froing of moneys extracted, promised and paid. More lobbying,

more visits. A regular newsletter about volunteer activities was instituted and sent to the mayor

and councillors as well as media, club members and the local community. The pressure worked.

Four years later an agreement was signed for five years’ guaranteed funding of $50,000, indexed

each year for inflation.

Council also agreed to provide two council workers for one morning each week to help the

volunteers in the gardens. That grant has since been extended for a further five years. It is the

largest single source of funding for TMBG by a small margin.

In the meantime, the management committee

continued to innovate channels for funding.

Weddings are popular in TMBG as they are in most

community parks and gardens. For many years the

bridal party was asked simply to make a donation

for their use of an area. As a result, amounts varied

from a few dollars to a hundred or more. Today, a

precise amount is requested and always provided.

The higher rate has been no deterrent to couples.

This rustic sign has greeted visitors to the

gardens for many years.

Similarly, half a dozen donation boxes are placed

at vantage spots around TMBG. These elicit

anything from small change to the occasional note.

Recently the sign over each box was expanded

from the simple word ‘Donations’ to include a

request for a gold coin. In the six month after the

signage was changed, the boxes elicited double

the amount that had been achieved in the entire

previous year!

Volunteers also formed a specialist plant propagation group, aptly named the Potty Potters.

They hold regular sales of seedlings and plants and operate a major stall throughout the open

garden festival weekend. This results in a substantial contribution to the TMBG bank account

every year.

One-off grants have helped TMBG secure much-needed equipment but for many years, these

were few and far between. Then a chance meeting between our club president and a state

government official who encouraged the club to be more active in pursuing grants led to the

appointment of a voluntary grants officer. The club and gardens now have a schedule of grant

application opportunities and a measure of success. A recent Federal Government grant, for

example, has resulted in a major storage shed extension.

The secure lines of funding have allowed the gardens management team to complete and then

extend the structures and features set out in the original layout and designs. For example:

Wisteria-covered pergolas have been built alongside the lake, a rotunda on a hillside offers a

delightful place for individuals and families to rest and view the site.

A pavilion was built near the gardens’ entrance to allow groups of visitors to meet and picnic

under shade.

Car parking facilities have been expanded and paved.

Previously earthen pathways throughout the gardens have been bituminised and maintained

An early photo of the gardens (approx 1988) of the area showing the stone bridge.

A more recent of the bridge and lake area

SECURING THE FUTURE

Most recently, a small group of the volunteers designed and then built a new path through a

wooded area now called The Sooty Owl Walk. It has become a major attraction, particularly

among young visitors who are enthralled by the ‘crooked house’ with its water wheel, a variety

of small bridges and images of owls scattered among the trees.

On the Sooty Owl Walk many signs exhort visitors to

’Look Up, Look Down’ and others explain aspects of the

forest – a real educational feature.

Aware of the need to attract a new generation to become involved, the club and botanic

gardens volunteers have also embraced new media. The web site is constantly updated with

blogs and news and a pair of volunteers recently attended a course on using social media for

business. The result was an immediate spike in activity and engagement on the Botanic Gardens

Facebook page. Readers began organising visits to the gardens through posts.

It is also encouraging to see the growing interest of young people in Springtime on the

Mountain Open Gardens Festival.

TMBG now stands as a powerful example of what can be achieved by enthusiastic volunteers

supported by a close-knit community and the determination to constantly review, refine and

develop multiple sources of funding. The future is secure and the volunteers can continue with

their program of development and enhancements … and hopefully grow the next generation of

TMBG stewards.

Thanks Denby for this fabulous article.

“Gardens and flowers have a way of bringing people together, drawing them from their homes” Clare Ansberry

the botanic gardener | ISS 46 November 2016 67

This article was prepared by Denby Browning one of Volunteers at the gardens